Monday. The art markets of Chiang Mai.

Another beautiful day in Chiang Mai. Hot, but we have lost much of the humidity of Bangkok.

Today we are visiting several of the local artisans as they create their unique and original pieces of art.

These artisans that we are visiting are family businesses, most in their own homes. They generally have a workshop in the home and likely a storefront where they sell their ware. Some also work under contract to a factory or distributor.

Out first stop is a Paper Making family.  We park on a dusty road and walk around into their yard. We are warmly welcomed and told to feel free to wander around and take pictures of anything we like. They take us around to the back where their work area is. As usual this is not as simple as it sounds. Trying to get a group of photography fanatics from Point A to Point B is somewhat like herding cats. We are easily distracted by anything that looks like it might make a good picture. We pass by an ancient rusted motorbike and sidecar and spend 10 minutes photographing it from every angle. Finally we arrive in the backyard.  There are odd blue A frame, tent-like structures strewn across the yard. We see blue ones, pink ones, a few red and green ones. We see stacks of blue frames with screens. Curious.

WE are greeted by the patriarch of the family. He is 76 years old, shirtless, his torso is covered with tattoos. Wiry and leatherly, the furrows and lines in his face tell a story of his life. His eyes are full of warmth and humour. A cigar hangs from his mouth, filling the gaps where he has long ago lost most of his teeth. He smiles and we can't help but respond in kind.  Around are a number of other family members young and old.

The elderly gentleman takes us on a journey describing how they create beautiful handmade paper from the bark of mulberry trees. This is the type of rough, textured paper you might see in special greeting cards or the photo albums or expensive gift bags you might buy in specialty shops. It is called SAA paper and special to this area. They soak the bark overnight, the next day it is boiled for 3-4 hours until it is soft, then it is bleached to make it white. They pound it by hand into small pieces. These are soaked again and stirred around in a tub of water. He then uses the blue framed screen to scoop the paper fibres out of the water, making a thin layer of the paper fibre on the screen. The screens are then leaned back to back, like an A or a tent, in the sun for 30 minutes to dry.

The paper is dyed in many colors. Sometimes flower petals are added into the paper as part of the design.

We walk around the front, past the mulberry trees, to the shop where reams of papers of every color and design are sold. Beautiful shades of pink, purple, yellow, blue, green....  Walking through the market we see goods made from the paper - gift bags, lanterns, journals, etc.

Notice the paper fibre against the blue screen.

Drying in the sun.

Flower petals pressed into the paper.

Reems of paper in the wholesale warehouse.

Beautiful colors of paper.

For sale in the shops.

Next stop, a very successful lacquer ware factory and showroom. Again, this is a family run business but on a much larger scale. Here they make beautiful vases, dishes, figurines, etc. Starting with teak from northern Thailand they create the piece. They then apply layers if black lacquer and then handpaint the intricate patterns and designs. Many designs incorporate 25 karat gold leaf into the work. Sometimes eggshells are used for texture, or moth of pearl inlay.

Hand painting on a jewellery box.

Intricate designs on trays.

Gold leaf and lacquer.

Creating texture with eggshell.

Beautiful pots from bamboo.

Lacquer, hand painting and gold leaf elephants.

After lunch we continued on our art tour, visiting an umbrella making business.  These are umbrellas made out of bamboo for protection from the sun. They hand paint designs onto the fabrics.

Making the umbrella.

Paintpots for painting the umbrellas.

The storefront.

 

One more artisan. We are off to visit a family of silversmiths. We pass through their storefront back into their home. We are running late and it is past their normal stopping time, but they welcome us warmly into their home, happy to share their craft with us. They hand us ice cold bottles of water, welcome at the end of a hot day and in this room warmed by the fires from the forge.

Here various family members are busily working at their specific tasks. We see a couple of women sitting cross-legged on a platform, a little raised from the floor. With a hammer and chisel-like tool they painstakingly pound away on large silver pots. The design is sketched on the pot and they are hammering out the detail. Each rise and fall of the texture is made by them, no molds. The silver is 92.5%, to go any purer would make the metal too soft.

 

Through another door and into a brick room is the fire or forge. Women can not do this part, it is the man's job (Or as Janet would say - a Blue Job). Here they melt the silver that begins the process. A disc of silver about 2-3 inches in diameter and maybe 1/4 inch thick will become a bowl. The men heat it till it glows orange then remove it (carefully!) and hammer it to start making it thinner and larger around. Heat it, hammer it some more, repeat.

 

Off to the side two young girls make jewellery, silver earrings, pendants, etc. It their start into the family business.

 

They also do wall carvings in aluminium, a less expensive and softer material that lends itself to incredible detail, still all done by hand.

 

We have seen much today. These wonderful artists who are such a big part of Chiang Mai's culture, traditions and heritage. But the one common thread among all of them, besides their incredible talent, is their hospitality, the open, warm and friendly way in which they welcomed us into their private homes. Shy smiles, pride in their craft and a genuine sense of family. We were indeed honored.